Weapons in Public: Exploring California’s Open Carry Coverage
Chief Ken James, Police Chief, Emeryville, CA
Sam Paredes, Govt Director, Gun House owners of California
Professor Franklin Zimring, William G. Simon Professor of Regulation and Wolfen Distinguished Scholar, UC Berkeley
John Diaz, Editorial Web page Editor, SF Chronicle – Moderator
The gun debate is extra heated than ever. In 2008, the Supreme Court docket dominated towards a sweeping ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., and affirmed a person’s proper to self-defense and gun possession. Quite a few analysts consider that this yr, the courtroom may be poised to overturn Chicago’s strictest-in-the-nation handgun ban. In a majority of states, law-abiding residents might overtly carry a loaded handgun with no license or allow required. In a lot of California, it’s authorized to overtly carry firearms so long as they’re unloaded and visual.
Open carry insurance policies at the moment are being hotly debated. Right here within the Bay Space, in communities resembling Walnut Creek and Antioch, open carry teams have been congregating at completely different places to exhibit their proper to hold unloaded, unconcealed firearms in public. Opponents have come out en masse to protest. There may be now even a proposed invoice that might make it a misdemeanor to overtly carry an unloaded handgun in specified public areas.
Because the state struggles with what’s proper – constitutionally and morally – we take a detailed take a look at this controversy from many sides. How do you are feeling about individuals carrying weapons in public locations? Does it matter in the event that they’re loaded or unloaded? Is that this a justifiable assertion of second modification rights or a possible catastrophe ready to occur? Ought to open carry be the regulation of the land?
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